BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 14.
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) strongly condemns
the fact that French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs
Jean-Noël Barrot once again targeted Azerbaijan with baseless
allegations during his speech at the OECD (Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development) Global Forum on Building
Trust and Reinforcing Democracy on October 13.
This was stated by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada
in a commentary addressing allegations against Azerbaijan made by
French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot at
an OECD event.
According to the statement, the French minister’s accusations
against Azerbaijan demonstrate that the French side remains
unwilling to abandon its confrontational rhetoric in relations with
Azerbaijan.
“Accusing Azerbaijan of interfering in the struggle for the
rights of people living in New Caledonia and other French overseas
territories is completely unfounded. The unfounded association of
the parties’ differing positions on events taking place in France’s
overseas territories with foreign interference is an attempt to
overshadow the will and interests of the people of those
territories.
French officials who speak of democracy, human rights, and the
rule of law would do well to focus first and foremost on
consistently applying these principles in French politics.
We call on the French side to put an end to unfounded
allegations against Azerbaijan and to uphold the principles of
mutual respect, sovereign equality and non-interference in internal
affairs in international relations,” the commentary noted.
